A SCHOOL DISTRICT IN MICHIGAN
WARNED PARENTS ABOUT A BOOK
THAT'S GOING TO BE SOLD DURING
THEIR UPCOMING BOOK FAIR.
APPARENTLY THIS BOOK
IS GOING TO TOUCH VERY BRIEFLY ON A GAY THEME.
THE LATEST EDITION OF THE POPULAR
CHILDRENíS BOOK, CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS,
FEATURES ONE OF THE TWO MAIN
CHARACTERS ñ
VIDEO BUFFERING ñ
THIS IS NOT A GAY THEMED
BOOK, BUT IT TOUCHES ON THAT
SMALL GAY RELATIONSHIP BRIEFLY.
ANOTHER THING I WANTED TO NOTE
IS THAT THIS IS NOT A BOOK THAT
IS GOING TO BE ASSIGNED TO THE
STUDENTS.
THEY DON'T HAVE TO
READ IT, IT IS JUST PART OF THE
SCHOLASTIC CATALOG, AND SHOULD
PARENTS WANT TO FIGHT FOR THE
KIDS TABLE HAD THE ABILITY TO DO
SO.
ROCKFORD PUBLIC SCHOOLS RELEASED
A STATEMENT.
THEY SAID, "WITHIN
THE PLOT OF THIS STORY, THERE IS
A VERY BRIEF REFERENCE TO ONE OF
THE CHARACTERS TRAVELING TWENTY
YEARS IN THE FUTURE TO FIND HE
IS MARRIED TO ANOTHER MAN.
OUR
PHILOSOPHY IS TO BE AS
TRANSPARENT AS WE POSSIBLY CAN
WHEN DEALING WITH PARENTS AND
THEIR CHILDREN.
IT WAS BROUGHT
TO MY ATTENTION YESTERDAY BY AN
ADMINISTRATOR COORDINATING THE
BOOK FAIR.
I TRY TO BE
CONSISTENT, AND WANTED PARENTS
TO KNOW."
THE SUPERINTENDENT
CONTINUES TO SAY, "AT ROCKFORD
PUBLIC SCHOOLS WE VALUE EVERY
PERSON THAT STEPS FOOD INTO OUR
BUILDINGS.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE
BELIEVE THAT OUR PARENTS DESERVE
THAT THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION
RELATED TO MATERIAL THAT MAY NOT
ALIGN WITH THE VALUES OF MANY
FAMILIES."
ON ITS FACE, MAYBE
THIS SEEMS LIKE AN INNOCENT
ATTEMPT OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT
TO PROTECT THE TRADITIONAL
VALUES OF PARENTS, BUT THIS IS
NOT AN ASSIGNMENT FOR THE
STUDENTS.
THIS IS JUST ONE BOOK THAT IS
INCLUDED IN THE CATALOG FOR THE
BOOK FAIR, SHOULD PARENTS CHOOSE
TO BUY THE BOOK.
IT MAKES SENSE ALL THE UP TO
THAT FINAL STATEMENT, WHERE IT
SAYS, SO THAT A CHILD WILL NOT
SELECT A BOOK THAT IS CONTRARY
TO HIS OR HER FAMILY OR
COMMUNITY VALUES.
THERE IS NO
DIFFERENCE AT THIS DAY AND AGE,
WHEN GAY MARRIAGE IS LEGAL, IT
IS NO DIFFERENT THAN BACK IN THE
60S, THE REACTION PEOPLE HAVE TO
GAY MARRIAGE IS NO DIFFERENT
THAN THE REACTION PEOPLE HAD TO
INTERRACIAL MARRIAGE IS BACK IN
THE 60S.
I PULLED UP A NUMBER
ABOUT THAT AS WELL, ACTUALLY,
TWICE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE
ACCEPT GAY MARRIAGE IN AMERICA
NOW THAT IT IS LEGAL, THAN THE
AMOUNT OF PEOPLE BACK IN THE 60S
THAT ACCEPTED INTERRACIAL
MARRIAGES WHEN IT BECAME LEGAL.
THERE ARE STILL A TON OF KIM
DAVISíS IN THIS COUNTRY THAT
DON'T AGREE WITH MARRIAGE
EQUALITY, SO IT AT THE SCHOOL
DISTRICTS RESPONSIBILITY OR
OBLIGATION TO WARN PARENTS ABOUT
ONE BRIEF MENTION OF A GAY
RELATIONSHIP IN A BOOK?
I GET WHERE THEY WERE COMING
FROM, THEY WANTED TO SAY, THIS
IS IN A BOOK, WHETHER WE AGREE
WITH THAT OR NOT.
BUT INSTEAD OF
SAYING WE ENCOURAGE FAMILIES AND
TEACHERS TO TAKE AN ACTIVE
ENGAGEMENT IN WHAT THEIR
CHILDREN ARE READING, WHY DONíT WE
ENCOURAGE PARENTS TO TALK ABOUT
ALL THE DIVERSE FAMILIES THAT
EXIST IN OUR COUNTRY, AND ALL
THE BEAUTIFUL WAYS THAT THIS CAN
MANIFEST, AND HAVE AN OPEN
DISCUSSION WITH KIDS WHO ARE READING
CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS?
WHO ARE WHAT,
ELEVEN YEARS OLD?
THESE ARE DISCUSSIONS WE SHOULD BE
HAVING FROM
A WAY EARLIER AGE, TO TALK ABOUT
THE EXTREMELY DIVERSE FAMILY
SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE IN THIS
COUNTRY, AND HOW GREAT IT IS,
AND WHAT THEY CAN EXPECT.
WE WON'T HAVE TO RELEASE
STATEMENTS LIKE THIS.
MAYBE I COME FROM A RADICAL
STATEMENT ON THIS, BUT I DON'T
THINK THAT GAY RELATIONSHIPS
NEEDED SOME SORT OF WARNING.
RIGHT?
HEY GUYS, TRIGGER
WARNING, WE ARE ABOUT TO TALK
ABOUT A GAY RELATIONSHIP.
THERE
IS NOTHING UNNATURAL OR WEIRD OR
OBJECTIONABLE ABOUT A GAY
COUPLE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A
BOOK TALKING ABOUT GAY SEX, IT
IS JUST A BOOK THAT BRIEFLY
TOUCHES ON A GAY RELATIONSHIP.
THAT IS IT.
IT IS AN AGE-APPROPRIATE BOOK,
GAVE PEOPLE EXIST, WE NEED TO
STOP SHAMING THEM OR HIDING THEM
FROM KIDS BECAUSE WE ARE AFRAID.
THERE IS NOTHING TO BE AFRAID
ABOUT.
SEXUALITY IS NOT SOMETHING THAT
IS LEARNED, SEXUALITY IS
SOMETHING THAT WE ARE BORN WITH.
IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT YOUR
CHILDREN TURNING GATE FROM
READING A SIMPLE BOOK THAT
TOUCHES ON GAY RELATIONSHIPS,
THEN YOU ARE VERY MISINFORMED
AND VERY IGNORANT ON THIS ISSUE.
NOT EVEN TURNING GAY, BUT I
THINK A LOT OF PARENTS ARE
CONCERNED ABOUT TALKING TO THEIR
KIDS ABOUT THIS TOPIC AT AN
EARLY AGE.
WHY WOULDNíT YOU
INTRODUCE A TOPIC OF THEM AT AN
EARLY AGE?
AND BY SAYING, WE
WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T
CONCENTRATE ñ THESE ARE CONTRARY
TO YOUR FAMILY IDEALS, THEN YOU
ARE ALLOWING THE ROOM FOR IT TO
BE CONTROVERSIAL.
YOU ARE PUTTING THAT OUT THERE.